Making it Right
by Kaatiieex
Summary: This was the scariest place they had ever been. Before it was high school drama but this was the real world. It was difficult to believe that sometimes, no matter how much you love someone sometimes, it doesn't work out.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a rewrite of my previous story 'Never Again'.  
I want to thank my beta reader, Denise who has been amazing throughout the whole writing process. She deserves a lot of credit for cleaning up my writing! Thank you so much for everything. _

_It's going to be a five part story which I'll be updating once a week. _

_As always, the content is my own but I acknowledge that the characters and the inspiration behind the original story completely and utterly belong to Disney. _

* * *

**Chapter One**

She was pining for him again. Freshly showered, the nineteen-year-old found solace on her bed. She sat in her flannel pyjamas, knees tucked up to her chin and arms protectively placed around her legs. Gabriella Montez had never felt so alone. Her wet curls cascaded down her back leaving a damp patch at the back of her pink flannel top. She had never felt this lonely when she had moved around the country, making little friends. No, this time it was worse. This time she had something to lose and she had never been so scared in all her life.

'How many times have I thought about him in the last thirty minutes?' The brunette teen shook her head and moved from her position on her bed over to her untouched suitcases. Maybe unpacking would take her mind off the ocean-eyed boy. The memory of his intense gaze made her shudder, anything to take her mind off him. She prayed for something to work.

It was official. Gabriella had stepped off a plane twenty-four hours ago. She had unpacked the night before, which had resulted in making her tired and soon after she was fast asleep, safe under her duvet. She had sat attempting to read for the last eight hours. She didn't know what else to do with her time. Her friends weren't back from college yet. Kelsi was staying in New York for a few extra days to work on her latest musical piece, Taylor was headed to Sacramento to see Chad's end of season game, and the Evans twins were spending Christmas with their parents in the big apple. Why were they not there to distract her from her agonising thoughts?

Stepping back into her world in New Mexico had been difficult. Her life at Stanford was strictly about her. She could block out her old life when she chose to and it was becoming more of an occurrence as a result of recent events. It was her life in California; she had her own friends and her very own barista job that she adored. It was so easy to escape and hide behind pretences. But that was not who she was. Gabriella Montez did not run away from anything, no matter how much it hurt. No matter how easier it seemed.

At Stanford, there was always something to do: an essay to write or a film to watch with her roommate, Cassie. A smile forced its way onto Gabriella's face and the smile widened at the thought of how close she and Cassie had become. She was really going to miss her over Christmas vacation, but she knew that she wanted to be in no other place right now. It was time to face reality and her situation. She grimaced. It was going to happen, even if she wasn't ready for it. She needed to make things right, or as right as they could be.

Gabriella heard the door close, but didn't look up to greet her mother who had just returned from work. She was engrossed in listening to commentary on a certain basketball game, but closed the page when her mother walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Honey, how was your day?" To anyone else Gabriella looked perfectly normal. She still had a shine in her eyes and didn't look like she was hurting, but Maria Montez knew her daughter too well. She was worried when Gabriella stopped talking about her boyfriend in their phone conversations and especially concerned when she had picked her up from the airport a few days ago. The small circles under Gabriella's eyes were starting to darken ever so slightly, and the shine in her eyes was a complete cover. She was hurting and Maria didn't know what to do about it. It especially did not help that her daughter's friends were nowhere to be seen, and with the blue-eyed boy in a completely different state.

"Yeah fine Mom. I completed the first draft of my paper today." The teen looked up and gave her mother a sheltered smile before looking back to her screen. She tilted it away from her mother's sight, now focused on the automatic update text commentary.

Maria Montez was not stupid. She knew that her daughter wasn't listening to her, but this was not a regular occurrence. She prided herself in having a close relationship with her daughter; it has always been solid and had strengthened after the passing of her husband, Jose. All they had was each other and they knew one another better than anyone else. She knew that her daughter was tuned out, focusing on something completely different than her attempt at conversation.

"So I saw Diane McKessie at the store today. She said that Taylor's due back tomorrow, she's coming back before Chad." Gabriella's eyes barely moved from the screen and all but grunted to show that she was listening somewhat to her mother. "So, how's the game?"

"The Bears are up by four." Maria smirked. Gabriella's head shot up, her mouth open in surprise. "How did you know?" She asked, shocked that her mother read her so easily.

Maria carried on unpacking the groceries and called behind her, "Mother's intuition, Honey." She turned around to smile at her only daughter. The smile on her face was soon replaced with a tender look. "When is he home?"

Gabriella's body language changed. She suddenly became protective, raising her legs to her chin on the stool on which she was positioned and closed the lid of her laptop. "I don't know, tonight's the last game so I guess sometime soon."

It was the first time she had spoken about him out loud in so long to anyone. She hadn't even spoken to Cassie about him, the girl that she shared a room with. Cassie had been respectful of Gabriella's space, but also tried to keep her busy – primarily away from the textbooks. Gabriella had never been so happy to have someone distract from her studies. It was so easy for her to burry her head in her work and not think about anything else, but Cassie made it all too simple for her to enjoy herself without thinking about him every second.

Maria had never seen her daughter look so fragile. She had barely spoken about her boyfriend in the past few weeks and refused to open up at all to anyone.

"Well, when I spoke to Lucille last week she said that she and Jack were headed to California to watch the game. They'll probably all come home together."

Gabriella raised her head at the mention of her boyfriend's mother. She winced. Was it right to still call him that?

"You spoke to Lucille?" She asked in a shy voice, looking at her mother as she nodded. Gabriella broke the mother-daughter eye contact and dropped her focus to her fingers, nervously playing with the open notepad placed in her front of her on the worktop. "Has she, did she mention anything about…" she closed her eyes as she said his name, "Troy?" Goosebumps appeared on her arms and legs, he still had an effect on her.

Maria Montez gave a knowing smile. "She might have mentioned something about him. She knows that something is wrong, too. Like I said, a mother's intuition never fails." She waited for Gabriella's reaction, waited for her to move, but instead her eyes fell to the floor. She jumped as she felt her mother's arm curl around her back. "He's been distant, just like you." She brushed a stray curl away from her daughter's face. "I know that you don't want to talk about it," she started quietly, "but if you do want to talk, if you feel you need to get it out, then I'm here for you, _Mija_."

Her mother had always been supportive of her young relationship. Right from the start she had encouraged Gabriella to go to Lava Springs to participate in the talent show, saying that people make mistakes and that everyone deserves a second chance. She tried to talk her into going back to Albuquerque senior year while she was at Stanford, after telling her boyfriend that she needed to stay right where she was. Maria only wanted her to be happy, and she knew the blue-eyed basketball player was the epitome of her daughter's happiness.

Gabriella took a deep breath before speaking up. "I know _Mami_, but I think I need to talk to Troy." She didn't want to add anything else and with a small smile she squeezed her mother's hand and picked up her belongings from the worktop.

"I'm going to read over this paper, will you call me when dinner's ready?"

Maria took in the sight of her vulnerable daughter. "Of course honey, it'll be ready about 7.30. I'll call you." She watched as Gabriella gave her a small smile and retreated upstairs to her room.

"You better come home soon to fix my daughter, Troy."


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's the second part._

**Chapter Two**

Four days. That's how long Gabriella Montez had been back in New Mexico. 96 hours. That's how long she had been agonising over an email she had received the day she had gotten back from California. She hadn't had an email from him in six weeks, why did he have to send one now? They hadn't spoken since he had left her dorm room 42 days ago. What could he possibly have to say to her that he couldn't say to her when he got back?

She knew that she would get home before him it was something that they had discussed when they had first received their schedules. The plan had been for her to travel to Berkeley with her bags, watch his last game and head home together for the holidays. That definitely hadn't happened. She'd told him that they needed space. A break. The words were just as hard to think as they had been to say. The memory of his pained, cobalt eyes still bore into her mind. She never wanted to cause him pain, but she needed to do this for her. Ultimately it was for them too. They needed to figure things out separately before they could even begin to think about their relationship.

Gabriella had spent the day in the company of Taylor, her first real friend. She always gave the best boy advice and was an expert at making boys grovel, well just the one boy in particular, Chad Danforth. The two had become an item pretty soon after Troy and Gabriella in their sophomore year. Gabriella smiled at the thought of her friend and boyfriend, Troy's best friend. He had become like a brother to her, always taking care of her when Troy wasn't around. She cared for him a lot.

The girls had chatted about Chad's game and how much he had improved in a few short months. They discussed college: Gabriella, Stanford and Taylor, Harvard. She was so proud of her friend for following her dreams.

Reluctantly, the conversation had turned from Taylor and Chad to their friends and the state of their relationship. Taylor discussed Chad's visit to Berkeley the month before. Like Taylor, Chad was worried about his best friend and made his way to Berkeley to be with Troy instantly. Taylor had insisted on taking the first flight to California, but Gabriella refused to let her friend drop everything. Besides, she had Cassie who wasn't making her talk and she liked it that way. She knew Taylor would encourage her to think rationally and she wasn't ready for that just then.

Gabriella had spoken very little about Troy to Taylor over the next few weeks, and that fact had not changed, much to Taylor's annoyance and constant insistence. She said that Troy was deeply hurting, but having Chad around had helped to pick him up, a lot. Gabriella was happy that he wasn't hiding away from everything. She didn't want to impact on his game. He needed to stay focused to prove himself.

Just before Taylor left, Gabriella risked telling her about the email that she had received, but had yet to open. Taylor urged her to read it when she had gone. She even offered to go downstairs while she read it and would hang around in case she needed her, but Gabriella ushered her to go. Chad was back and she knew that Taylor wanted to see her boyfriend; they had spent such little time together since being away at college. A reluctant Taylor left, but not without making her friend promise to call her if she needed anything. She would be there with a tub of Ben and Jerry's in a flash. Gabriella had giggled, the first genuine giggle since she had been home, and hugged her friend with the promise of seeing her the next day at the big meet up.

Chad had organised for the gang, all of them, to go to his house. Everyone would be home, except Ryan and Sharpay, and had insisted on an old fashioned wildcat reunion: pizza, basketball and a day of just hanging out. She knew she needed to read the email before she faced him. She had to read what he had said before any conversation was sparked.

She knew she wasn't ready to read it. She had no idea what it was going to say. What if he decided while being apart that he no longer wanted her? That he had found someone else, someone who actually wanted to talk to him, someone who didn't shut him out?

So many hopeful and negative thoughts were circling around in her head; she knew she should just get it over with already.

Just as she was about to click on his name, the untitled email, she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Startled, she nervously jumped up and turned to face her balcony.

'Please be the wind, please be the wind.'

Slowly, she tiptoed towards the doors and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the moving object. It was not caused by the wind. It was the boy that hadn't escaped her thoughts for six weeks. He was here and was looking at her with the intent gaze that made her weak at the knees.

Her small hands lingered at the handle of the balcony doors. She didn't realise she was shaking until she tugged on the door and felt the cool air hit her as she removed the glass barrier between them.

Cobalt met brown. No words were spoken and neither knew what to say first. They just stared at their lover, taking in their appearance after eight agonising weeks apart.

_Eight weeks ago._

_She couldn't believe that he had let her walk out like that without going after her. He left her a voicemail asking if she had got back to Silicon Valley okay, but that was all the contact from him in two days. Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be ignoring him? He was making it extremely difficult with the lack of attempt to talk to her. _

_She knew that he had at least spoken about the argument to someone; Taylor had called within minutes of her making it back to her dorm room, Troy had spoken to Chad. At least she knew that he cared enough to talk about it. _

_She kept going over the conversation that Troy and his disgusting roommate Jack had had. Who was Seren? More importantly, why had she been in Troy's room?_

_The door to Gabriella's shared dorm opened and in came Cassie gladly interrupting Gabriella from her thoughts. She turned to face her closest friend at Stanford. They had been inseparable the whole two days that Gabriella had returned from Berkeley and Cassie refused to let her friend wallow in self-pity. She was doing her job as she had informed Gabriella when she had dragged her to a party the night before. _

_"So, everyone is off to the bowling alley tonight and I said we'd go." Gabriella watched from her place at her desk as her friend moved about the room picking up her clothes strewn on the floor. _

_"Do I have a choice in this?" Gabriella went back to her work, only to find her pen ripped from her hand. She looked up at Cassie with a feigned angry expression on her face. _

_"Oh come on Gabs, I promised Andrew that you'd be there. You remember Andrew right? The one with the major crush on you!" Cassie smiled widely and moved to her dresser, replacing the clothes on her body with dishevelled ones on the floor. _

_Gabriella rolled her eyes and looked back to her computer screen, saving her three sentences of her report she managed to get done. _

_"Andrew, seriously? He's so…slimy. Hasn't he hooked up with everyone on our corridor already?" Cassie knew that Gabriella was merely amusing her, she didn't take Andrew's affection seriously. Her heart already belonged to somebody. _

_"But playing with him is so much fun, don't you think?" She looked over her shoulder at Gabriella who was transfixed by her computer's background, a collage of pictures of her and Troy, all from happy times in their relationship. Suddenly the pictures were gone with the slam of her computer lid and before she knew what was happening she was being pulled to her feet. _

_"Get ready Gabs, we're going out and you have no say in the matter." Cassie's green eyes sparkled as she put on her mock-angry façade that she had sported ever since a miserable Gabriella had walked through the door two days ago. Her auburn hair shone in the light as she dragged Gabriella towards the bathroom. A knock on the door ceased their movement and both girls turned their attention to the distraction._

_Cassie looked toward the door then at Gabriella. "Look, you go freshen up in the bathroom" she took in her friend's pyjama state. "I'm sure your appearance is salvageable, a brush and some make-up should do the trick." Gabriella huffed as there was another knock on the door. "You. Bathroom. Now. I'll get the door."_

_Cassie made sure that the door to the bathroom was shut before she opened the dorm room door. "I said we'd be ready in fifteen minutes not two…" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the boy that stood on the other side. She had expected it to be Paul or Randy, not the reason for Gabriella's misery. _

_She was about to make a sharp comment, but decided against it as she took in his appearance. His hands were shoved in his jean pockets, causing his jeans to ride further down his hips than they should, and she couldn't help but let her eyes wander over him. She had only seen pictures of him, but seeing him in person was an entirely different thing. She knew that he was good looking, but standing here in front of her looking so vulnerable, Gabriella had failed to tell her that her boyfriend was so devastatingly handsome. However, there was a difference in his persona. His eyes had dark rings under them from what she guessed was caused from lack of sleep. His hair wasn't styled and left incredibly messy, falling in his eyes. He looked just as bad as Gabriella. _

_"I uh…" he trailed off, not wanting to meet Gabriella's infamous roommate for the first time under such circumstances. "Is Gabriella here?" He brought his hand to the back of his neck and scratched it nervously. _

_Cassie realised that she was staring, but she couldn't help it. Damn he was good looking, how was Gabriella refusing to speak to such a fine specimen? As she allowed her eyes to scan over the boy in front of her, she caught his questioning gaze and coughed._

_She moved aside from the door and motioned for him to come through. He gave her a small smile as he crossed the threshold from the corridor into his girlfriend's room and took a look around. Sure he had seen it over Skype, but being there was an entirely different experience. He knew instantly which side of the double-room was hers. Pictures decorated every available space, some of them together with their friends, but mainly separate photographs of just the two of them. He gravitated towards them, needing to see her face, not spotting her in the room physically. _

_Cassie finally found her voice after a minute of watching him. "Um, Gabs is in the bathroom. I'll just call her." She cleared her throat and knocked lightly on the bathroom door. _

_"Tell them I'll be out in two minutes. I'm just finishing up and then I need to change, I haven't been in here ten seconds Cass!" Gabriella's irritation was evitable through her tone. Troy's head whipped towards the door at the sound of the heavenly voice. _

_"Um Gabs, someone's here to see you. Look, I'm going to Randy's room. We'll wait there 'til half seven and then we're gone, okay?" Cassie turned around and was making her way to the door as her friend's muffled voice sounded through the bathroom door. Unsure what Gabriella had said, she stole one more glance at the pained, beautiful boy who was stood staring in the direction of the bathroom and slipped out into the corridor. _

_Moments later the bathroom door opened, revealing the girl that Troy had travelled especially to see. He almost missed the look of utter shock on her face as he stared at the clothes, or the lack of, which she had on. There she stood in front of him looking too desirable for her own good. The most beautiful sight Troy had ever seen. Her pink pyjamas left nothing to the imagination, the small top barely met the shorts, exposing her midriff. He was momentarily distracted by the longing to run his hands along her soft, inviting, golden skin. His attention wasn't lost for long, but long enough to appreciate the natural beauty of the girl he loved so dearly. _

_"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, more than aware of his gaze upon her. She wrapped her arms around herself in embarrassment, attempting to shield herself from his lustful eyes; a pink blush grazed her cheeks. He had seen her in much less, but at that moment in time she wished she were wearing so much more. That gaze, she shuddered, one look from him was enough to cause her anger to crumble. _

_He tore his stare away from her slim body and locked his cobalt eyes on her face. He felt as vulnerable as she looked, but he needed to see her, to talk to her, to make everything okay again; to make her understand. _

_"I wanted to see you, to talk to you" he sighed, "To explain." She broke their eye contact and moved towards her dresser. Without looking she pulled out a hoodie, anything to cover up her body._

_"I'm surprised you're here, Troy." She pulled the sweater over her head and grimaced when she noticed it was his wildcat hoodie, did it have to be on top of the pile?_

_Troy moved closer to her, the jumper causing a distraction to her attention. "What do you mean?" He spoke softly, but his tone was anxious, underlain with hurt. _

_Gabriella scoffed. "Well, it's been two days Troy, you only called once and that call doesn't even count! You only did it out of guilt, making sure that I got back okay." She brushed passed him. "Why do you even care?"_

_She hadn't expected her comment to anger him so much, but it did. His sudden outburst and change in tone startled her. She felt his hand pull on her arm tugging her around to face him once more. _

_"What do you mean?" He demanded, "of course I care. How can you even think that I don't?" His blue eyes had turned murderous. For the first time since he had entered Gabriella's dorm he was angry, livid at her words, at her. _

_She was furious, how dare he walk in here and be mad at her, how_ dare _he_.

_"What do you mean, what do I mean? You're one of the guys now aren't you? A sleaze, a cheat!" _

_Troy's eyes widened. His hold on her arm relaxed, his hand falling to his side. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's the third part._

**Chapter Three**

She was staring intently at him. Did that mean that she had missed him, that she still…loved him? He hoped so.

Gabriella was trying to get her body and breathing under control. She felt like her heart was jumping through her chest it was thudding so loudly, could he hear it too? She was too engrossed in slowing down her heart rate that she didn't notice that he had moved; he was draping his Berkeley jacket around her shoulders. She wasn't aware until the material touched her bare skin.

"You're so pale, are you cold?" His warm breath touched her face as he whispered in her ear. He was so close she felt warm and fuzzy, not cold and shivery. Still, she allowed him to lead her unspoken into the warmth of her room and sat her on her bed, rubbing her arms with his hands trying to warm her up.

"Is that better?" He asked his gaze still intently locked on hers. Did he have to keep looking at her like that? It was going to break any resolve she planned on having.

"Um, yeah," she coughed to clear her shaky voice but couldn't get any other words out.

Staring at him, having him here in front of her, she realised just how much she had missed him. She took in his flushed appearance. He stood in front of her in a plain white tee and a pair of jeans, wearing, as always, his black scruffy converse. She felt self conscious sitting on her bed in his old red Wildcats shirt and her pyjama shorts with her curls tied on top of her head.

"Hi," she whispered as her eyes reached his face for what felt like the hundredth time since entering her room. She took a closer look at him in the light, spotting the matching bags under his eyes. She noticed how dishevelled his hair was, probably at the constant touch of his hands running through it, a sign of his nervousness. They were perfectly matched in so many ways.

He stared back at her. "Hi." His voice was barely a whisper. He didn't know what to say, didn't want to ruin the moment.

As soon as the Boltons had pulled up in front of their house from the airport, Troy had darted to his room to drop his duffel bag and had driven straight to Gabriella's without a second thought, shouting a goodbye to his wide-eyed parents. He had missed her, missed her so much. He needed to see her and came straight to her.

The space that she had asked for ended at Christmas vacation and Troy couldn't be more eager to get the break over and done with and get back to being Troy and Gabriella, the love-struck teens. So he had found himself crawling up her tree and climbing onto her balcony, happy that she had seen him before he had chickened out, scared of the conversation that would ensue. Scared that she wouldn't want to see him, that she would tell him it was over for good; that she no longer loved him.

She hadn't returned his email that he was sure of. He had constantly checked his iPhone the whole time at the airport and the entire drive home. Zero emails from the girl he longed to see. He needed to see her, even if she did crush his heart even more than the separation and silence already had.

***

"I didn't think you would be back by now, let alone show up on my balcony, in my room." Her voice was quiet and if he hadn't have been standing so close to her bed then he may not have heard her speak.

"I wanted to see you," he spoke truthfully. She was surprised by his sudden openness, she hadn't expected it. "I needed to see you."

That look was back. The imploring look that she was frightened would wholly consume her. Her jaw started to tremble. She couldn't do this, couldn't face this right now. She hadn't had time to read his email, didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know what she wanted, what she was even thinking. He clouded her every thought, filled her entire being with his substance when he was around. All she could focus on was him, everything Troy.

"I missed you." She managed to speak, barely.

Relief washed through Troy and warmth filled him entirely. She'd said three words that he was hoping to hear. Now all that was left for her to say were three other words that he desperately wanted to be true.

"Can we just, can we forget everything tonight?" Her eyes were closed, scared to open them to see the anger that he would undoubtedly be feeling inside expressed on his face. She carried on speaking, confused between the need to get her words out and to stop him from answering before she had finished. "Just pretend that we're back together after being apart, nothing else?"

Just looking at her he could see how drained she was. She looked so tired, so thin and worn. He hated that he was the one to have caused this. He didn't want to cause her any more pain and he agreed with her, it could wait until tomorrow. He felt worn-out too. He was exhausted from missing her, tired from playing this scenario over and over in his head; worrying how the conversation would pan out.

But he didn't want to leave her. He'd barely touched her and only had her in front of him for a few minutes, which was definitely not enough after an eight-week separation. Gabriella felt the same way, she was sure of that. She saw the look of distain and disappointment on his face and went to speak but he beat her to it.

"Yeah sure," he shoved his hands in his pockets, dejectedly. "I'll just see you tomorrow at Chad's." He took one more look at her before turning around preparing to leave before being halted by her sudden voice.

"No! Wait. Don't go. I didn't mean…" She didn't know what she meant. Did she want him to stay? "Just stay." Her confident words were out before she could stop them, shocking herself. "Please," she added quietly. She looked everywhere but him, avoiding his eyes self-consciously as he turned around, her certainty slipping.

"Okay." He could never deny her anything and an opportunity to hold her in his arms, that was something he was sure he would never pass up. He didn't know what was going on between them, but at that moment he didn't care. He was here with her and that was all that mattered.

He stepped toward her as she stood from her place on the bed. His eyes searched hers as he silently asked, pleaded to touch her. Being this close to her was driving him crazy; he needed to feel her. His eyes wandered over her body and she felt the urgency to jump into his arms. The two gravitated towards each other, unconsciously, and she crushed her body into his.

The feeling of having their lover so close was heavenly. He wound his left arm around her waist and his right slid up her back to massage her neck.

"God Gabriella," he breathed into her hair and pulled her even closer to him if possible. "I've missed you."

Tears escaped down her cheeks, she was finally home. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent that was purely Troy, the scent that had washed off his clothes that she had stolen. Standing here in his arms, she didn't know how much longer her legs would hold her up.

Troy sensed her tiredness and led her over to her bed where he pulled back the covers and helped her get in. He quickly made it to the other side, making sure that she was happily covered before carefully sitting on top of the duvet.

His arms automatically wrapped around her slender frame as she manoeuvred to snuggle closer to his chest. They lay for a while, soaking in their lover's embrace.

No other words needed to be said. The silent bond that had been created in the early stages of their relationship washed over them. They were together, for now. Everything else could wait.


	4. Chapter 4

_Here's the fourth part. It's the biggest chapter so far, enjoy :)_

__**Chapter Four **

Gabriella took a deep breath. 'I can do this, I really can do this.' She continued looking at Chad Danforth's house and carried on repeating it to herself until the front door opened and out came Taylor, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

"What are you doing? Aren't you coming in?" She asked with her hands on her hips and a questioning gaze.

Gabriella still stood, looking wide-eyed and coaxing herself that she could manage it.

Taylor noticed Gabriella's hesitance and offered moral support by dragging her into the house. "You still have to tell me what that email said, Gabs." The whispered comment brought Gabriella back to reality. She had to face him again. She didn't know if she could carry on feeling this way.

"Come on sweetie. Everyone's here, we've been waiting for you."

Gabriella watched as Taylor made her way into the living room where she could hear excited, muffled voices. "Everyone's here?" She whispered.

Gabriella stood frozen on the spot as Chad bound into the hall out of the living room.

"GABSTER!" He shouted as he lifted her off the ground swinging her around. The blue-eyed boy momentarily forgotten, Gabriella collapsed into a state of giggles and held on tightly to her friend.

"I've missed you," he whispered in her ear as he placed her steadily on her feet.

"You too Chad, you have no idea." She smiled at him.

He led her into the living room where she was greeted by the gang: Martha, Jason and Kelsi.

She saw him standing there out of the corner of her eye while she was hugged in turn by each of her friends. She turned to him and smiled, whispering a quiet hello; wishing that this awkward moment wasn't being displayed in front of their friends.

"Hey." His blue eyes shone as he greeted her, wanting to return to holding her in her bedroom. He'd had to leave two hours after he had climbed her balcony to get home before his parents sent a search warrant, undoubtedly starting at Gabriella's house. She'd been asleep of course, but he'd left a note.

_Gabi, _

_I'm sorry that I won't be here when you wake up, but I'll see you at Chad's later.  
I can't begin to describe how good it feels to see you and hold you. I don't ever want to go that long again. I don't think I'd make it through another 2 months without you. _

_I love you._

_Wildcat. _

Gabriella smiled at him, thinking about the words that he'd written. He loved her. He wanted her. She'd never felt so relieved in all her life.

He was so confident in his note and email, which she had finally read. She knew what she wanted. She just needed to find a quiet moment to speak to him.

Finding a quiet moment was harder than Gabriella anticipated. She loved her friends and she had really missed them, but she wanted to be alone with Troy. As the day went on she was itching to speak to him, to just be near him. She hadn't missed the stolen glances that he'd been giving her. Even their friends weren't oblivious to the way they were looking at each other.

By 9 o'clock, having been together since 12pm that afternoon, Gabriella excused herself saying that she was tired. Troy's eyes instantly perked up and offered to drive her home.

The car ride was quiet, full of tension. It had been months since Gabriella had last ridden in Troy's rusty old truck, something that she had missed. It was a part of the Troy package; the truck came with him. Even though she teased him about it, she really loved it. It was so Troy.

Gabriella was shocked to be awakened from her daydreaming as she felt Troy's hand on her arm bringing her back to reality. She looked around and noticed that they were parked outside her house.

"I thought you'd zoned out on me." Troy chuckled.

Gabriella smiled at him. "Just thinking. I didn't realise that we were here already."

"Yeah. So…," he sighed.

"Will you come in?" Gabriella asked, her brown eyes full of hope.

"Yeah, sure." He was out the door and already opening hers before she had time to comprehend his answer.

He led her up the pathway to her house, a walk that they had shared so many times. It usually consisted of stolen kisses and whispers of sweet nothings at the end of a date, making the most of every moment they had.

This time though it was silent. Each of them was thinking things over in their heads, nervous to enter the house and talk.

Troy found himself shaking. What if this was it? What if this was the end? He had sent her a heartfelt email. He had reiterated his feelings in the note that he had left on her pillow the night before. His throat suddenly went dry. He didn't know how she felt.

Gabriella's house was in darkness. She knew that her mother was at her work's Christmas party and wouldn't be home 'til late, that gave them plenty of time to talk. Shakily, her hand reached in her purse for her key and she managed to get the front door open.

Silently, Gabriella led Troy up to her room. She turned her lamp on as he moved to her bed and took off his converse. She stood in front of him, watching him loosen the laces so he could easily slip his feet out.

He looked up to find her watching him. She looked frightened. She was shaking. He didn't know whether to comfort her, he wanted to so badly, but he knew that it would only prolong what she had to say. He wanted to be selfish for once, to hear what she had to say as soon as possible.

For the second consecutive night brown met cobalt in the lightly lit room. Gabriella stared into the eyes of the hopeful boy and she knew what she had to, what she had been wanting to do for weeks.

But she didn't know how. Where should she start?

"Gabriella!" Troy's agonised voice broke through the silence. "I'm going crazy." He sighed as he tried to curb his frustration.

"It's been horrible without you." His sad eyes looked over her body, the raw pain evident. "I've tried to throw myself into basketball, but even that's failing to stop the pain."

He moved towards her and halted his step inches in front of her. Gabriella looked into his expectant eyes. "Please tell me it's over. Please say that we can go back to being us, because I can't take it anymore."

She felt everything that he did, every little bit.

"This break that you asked for, well it's Christmas. It's over. You need to make a decision."

_Two months ago._

_"A cheat?" He gulped as he said the words. Is that what she really thought?_

_"Is that what you think of me?" His voice choked out. He couldn't take his eyes off her, the girl who he loved more than anyone and anything in the world. She thought that he had betrayed her. He couldn't bear her being in pain, especially because of him. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. _

_Gabriella, noticing Troy's stance, felt a tear trickling down her cheek. She hadn't believed it when she'd first heard it, but with Troy's reaction, well how could she not? As much as she hated to see him hurt, she was hurting too. She needed to know the truth. _

_"Well, isn't that what you and Jack were talking about? That, that girl who was in your room?" The vulnerability shone through in her voice. His eyes opened and the intent gaze that made her weak at the knees locked on her own. Damn him. He knew exactly what to do to melt her resolve. She closed her eyes so that he didn't continue to weaken her, she couldn't let him. _

_When she opened them again he was sat next to her. He was so close that she could hear his ragged breathing and feel his warm breath on her face. _

_"Nothing happened with Seren, Gabi. I promise you." He searched her eyes, needing her to believe him. "I have not and would never cheat on you. I have never lied to you, you have to trust me." _

_She wanted to so badly. She wanted to believe him, to fall into his arms and have him kiss her. She wanted it all to go away. But it wasn't that simple. Something had happened, something had changed and she needed to know exactly what it was. _

_"It was all so messed up." He shook his head. "We were at a party and she had too much to drink. She couldn't remember where her dorm was and asked if she could crash at mine." He suddenly got on his feet, pacing the space in front of her. _

_"I mean what was I supposed to do? She'd been so good to me. She's in the same situation that we are. No matter how small the distance is, it's still hard." _

_Gabriella was watching him intently. She had never seen him act this way before. He had never had to be nervous about telling her anything, never had to feel guilty. This was a new side to Troy and not one that she ever wanted to see again. _

_"We talked about Adam, her boyfriend, and you." He looked down at her now pacing beside her bed. "I miss you so much Gabriella that sometimes it's unbearable. I like, need to see you, to hold you, just to hear your voice." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I get that you're busy, I am too. Not seeing you, not being able to take the time to just turn up at your door, things that I took for granted before, well it sucks." _

_She nodded she felt the same way. She missed their relationship so much - she missed him. _

_"Seren, she gets it. She's going through the same thing, or so I thought." He gulped. He really should have called and told her the day after it happened, why didn't he? Then this would never have happened and Gabriella would never have thought the worst of him._

_"So she came back to my dorm and I let her have my room. I moved out into the couch. Anyway, in short, she came onto me. I walked in while she was changing, one thing led to another and she kissed me." _

_Her worst fears were confirmed. She allowed a moment of weakness, just one moment; tears fell down her cheeks. Then she found her voice. "Get out." She wasn't the weak girl anymore. He'd cheated. No matter how much he said he loved her, he'd kissed another girl. What more was there? _

_"Gabi, please just let me explain…" He begged, but she cut him off, determined not to let him finish. _

_She stood and faced him, looking him straight in the eye. "You've had your chance Troy, now get out. You've just confirmed everything I was thinking. I can't believe you had the audacity to act so hurt, you kissed her!" He had never seen her like this before, fiery and angry. He'd never hurt her this badly before. He'd never wanted her so much. The fiery sparkle in her eye was incredibly sexy. _

_"Nothing happened," he gripped her by the arms. "Nothing happened Gabi, I promise you." She struggled to get out of his grasp but it was no use, he was too strong, too determined._

_"She kissed me but I stopped it. I don't want her. I don't want anyone else, I only want you." Was he crying too? "Please, you've got to believe me. I know things have been different recently. We've both been under pressure starting college and with everything going on. But I swear to you, nothing happened." _

_The glint in his eye was back, the glint that always told her that he was being sincere. It was the same glint that she had seen at graduation when he first told her that he was going to Berkeley, not U of A. _

_He touched his forehead to hers and slid his hands down her arms. "You've got to believe me. There's no one else, there never will be. It's only you. I only want you, always."_

_The way that he was nuzzling his face against hers, it was pure heaven. But she couldn't pretend that things hadn't changed, whether he'd cheated or not. _

_She stroked her hand through his hair and cupped his ear, bringing him closer to her. _

_"I trust you, Troy. I do." She cooed in his ear. "But we can't pretend that nothing's happened, that nothing's changed." _

_He tightened his grip on her. "I know, but it's just because we've been apart. Things will be better now, you'll see." He moved back slightly so that he could look into her deep brown eyes. "I've told coach that I need a few days off. I don't have to be back at practice 'til Thursday, can you believe that?" The widest smile filled his face. "We have two whole days together. Just you and me." He tapped her nose affectionately. His smile faded when he saw that hers didn't reach her eyes. _

_"I don't know if that's such a good idea right now, Troy." She stepped away from his embrace, needing to be out of his touch if she was going to say what she was about to. _

_"I think we need some time, time apart. All this stress on our relationship, on us, it's not doing us any good." There was no way he could bargain with her, he knew that tone of voice all too well. It was the tone that she used on him when she'd had enough of his procrastination and was encouraging him to get on with his homework. She was firm and couldn't be persuaded. _

_He was staring at her, the pain returning to his eyes. "So what, you mean like a…break?" He couldn't control the break in his voice uttering the last word. _

_"I think that it's best." Both knew what a break meant, a stepping-stone to finality. _

_"Oh." She couldn't look at him, she wasn't brave enough. She knew that the look on his face would be enough for her to tell him to stay, stay forever. But it was wrong. They needed to work on themselves without the pressures of a relationship, no matter how much it hurt. _

_"I think," she had to continue before she broke down, "That we should take 'til Christmas break to work on ourselves". She finally looked up at him and her tears threatened even harder. "You need to put so much into basketball and I get it, I don't want you worrying about me anymore. You do what you have to do, I can focus on my work and then we'll see."_

_This was the scariest place they had ever been. Before it was high school drama but this was the real world. It was difficult to believe that sometimes, no matter how much you love someone sometimes, it doesn't work out. _

_"I can't walk away from us." He shuddered at the sound of his voice, why couldn't he hold it together?_

_"We're not," she assured him. "We're just putting us on hold because we can't give the time right now. Who knows, maybe this will save us and put us back on track in a few weeks."_

_He moved closer to her. "You do know how long it is 'til Christmas right? That's two months Gabriella. Two months. We've never been apart that long. We've had beach and hotel trips, just because we haven't actually visited each others colleges, that doesn't mean that we don't, that we can't…We've just been busy that's all. It's fixable."_

_She didn't know who he was trying to convince anymore, her or himself. _

_"It's fixable, I know it is Gabi." She gave a small smile at his determination. Troy Bolton wasn't a quitter. He progressed right the way to the end and that's one of the many things that she loved about him, his passion. _

_"Troy, we're not letting go, not for good. It's just for now. It's been tough and it'll only get tougher as the end of the semester nears. We need to get this first semester over with, then we have winter vacation and we'll see each other then."_

_She seemed so sure, so confident. Surely, if she felt that way, then it would all work out okay. She sure hoped so. _

_"So take a break for now and then see what happens at Christmas?" He had to take what he was given._

_"Yeah, I think it's best."_

**The next chapter will be the concluding chapter of the story. One more update to go! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"I've missed you so much, Troy."

She had finally found her words.

"These past two months have proven to me just how much I need you, how you're a part of me. I've felt so lost without you. I don't want to go through that any more. I love you, Wildcat."

He blinked. He had been hopeful that she'd say that she loved him and wanted to work on things, but now that she had, he was frozen.

Gabriella was confused over his reaction. The break was over, yet she was not in his arms. How was this right?

"Are you sure? Because once I make one move, then that's it. You can't back out."

She chuckled and gave him a watery smile. "What do you think?"

He moved faster than she had ever seen him before. His lips crushed passionately against hers. Hands were everywhere, savouring the touch of their lover. It had been too long since they had been emotionally and physically together. Every moment was being savoured.

"I was so scared Gabi…" he whispered between kisses. "So scared that you were going to let this go. I don't know what I would have…" She cut him off with a kiss.

"Shh," she cooed in his ear as she affectionately rubbed her hand through his hair. "I didn't, it didn't happen. We're together. For good." She smiled. Finally she was in his arms and her world was just right again.

Gabriella was unpacking her suitcase in her dorm room. She had gotten back two hours ago and she was already exhausted. Cassie had arrived the day before and as they hadn't had chance to speak much over vacation, she was intent on filling Gabriella in on every detail.

"And then, if you can believe it, she just walked up to me in the party and shoved me! I mean come on, how was I supposed to know that he was her boyfriend?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and tried to stop the smirk that appeared on her face before Cassie saw it.

"She should keep tabs on him if she's afraid he'll cheat. But who can blame him, she's so highly strung. She always has been, ever since…" Cassie was cut off by a loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it. You carry on unpacking." She said, already on her feet and halfway to the door.

Gabriella was focused on taking the remaining few items out of her case that she jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around her.

But she soon relaxed. There's only person who smelt that good, who felt so warm. Troy.

She turned around to be greeted by her boyfriend, her face full of shock. "How? When? I…"

Troy laughed at her attempt to string a sentence together. "I had a call from coach this morning. He can't get out of Alaska, snowed in. So here I am, free from training for three whole days." His gleaming smile was contagious and slowly made its way onto Gabriella's face as she took in what he was saying to her.

"Really? Three days?" The starry look in her eyes made him chuckle. "Yes." He cupped her face in his hands. "Three days of nothing but this." He leaned in to kiss her and she sighed as his lips met hers.

Their goodbye had been tearful. She hadn't wanted to leave him once they had reached California Airport. He had ushered her into a taxi and promised to visit her in one week. He was putting aside training the first weekend back to spend time with her, she couldn't complain. But here he was with a spare three days. Three days that he planned to spend with her.

Things were finally right again. They weren't the same, but it was a good different; a moving forward different.

**And there it is, it's complete! Finally.  
I want to thank everyone who's taken time to read & review, it really means a lot to me :)  
I'm hoping to get started on writing a full story, but I wanted to start off with a smaller one to see how it went. Thanks again, and make sure to look out for my future fics!  
Best,  
Kate xo**


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